The present invention relates to salt taste-enhancers more particularly to encapsulated ammonium salts as salt taste-enhancers for food compositions.
Excessive dietary sodium ion intake, the primary source of which is sodium chloride or table salt in foods, has long been associated with a number of health problems such as hypertension. It is generally recognized that the sodium ion intake of most persons is in excess of minimal physiological needs of the body. Consequently, a marked reduction in sodium consumption is recommended for most persons. However, the inclusion of sodium chloride in the diet contributes a good deal to the palatability of foods, and food without salt is perceived to be tasteless, flat and unpalatable.
Heretofore, a number of sodium-free compositions have been suggested as salt substitutes to replace sodium chloride in foods while retaining the palatability of the food. Examples of such salt substitutes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,471,144; 2,601,112; 3,782,974; 4,243,691; 4,340,614; and 4,451,494.
Among the most popular salt substitutes are potassium chloride, ammonium salts such as ammonium chloride and mixtures thereof. However, such salt substitutes suffer from a number of disadvantages, including off-taste or bitter flavor, a taste perception different from sodium chloride, and a salty impression much less than that of sodium chloride. In particular, ammonium salts are hygroscopic and have a sour aftertaste. Typically, a number of other components must be included to mask a bitterness which the salt substitute, such as potassium or ammonium chloride imparts, such as a combination with potassium chloride of calcium and magnesium formate and citrate salts, sugar, choline citrate and hydrolyzed animal protein.
Another procedure which has been suggested for reducing sodium ion intake is to incorporate salt taste-enhancers in foods and beverages. That is, compounds, which potentiate or amplify the taste of sodium chloride in foods and beverages are incorporated therein so that the sodium chloride content thereof may be reduced without adversely affecting the desired salty taste of the food. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,672 and the prior art discussed therein disclose the use of substances such as cationic surfactants, bretylium tosylate, certain polypeptides, and the like as salt taste-enhancers.